Hi
I have a Springer Spaniel puppy who is 7 months old, he took a slight tumble at the age of about 4 months and started to limp.  We took him to the vet and she thought it was muscular, it seemed to almost go with rest, but never really went.  We have just had x-ray's done which did not seem to show anything at all, they have been sent to a specialist and we get the results on Thursday, although our vet said she has seen enough x-ray's that she thinks she can safely say there is nothing showing.  Has anybody else had this problem, I keep getting told is it something he will grow out of, is it common in Springers, this is our first. He seemed to have grown from a small pup to and adult in months, people who saw him regularly commented how fast he was growing. It breaks my heart to see him limping but he dosen't seem to be in any pain.  He is now on Rimadyl for the next 14 days but would like any advise at all if possible.
Thanks     

I had a pup who injured a shoulder muscle at 10 months and it took me till she was 18 months to get her competly sound. She  had limped when she first did it and as she was growing so fast the muscle in the shoulder lost lots of tone. It can take a long long time to re-train the mind that the limb is better and no longer needs to be limped on as the longer they limp the more the muscle builds on the good leg and the less they use the "bad" one. She had lots of swimming (Controled) and excersises to do to re-build the muscle and teach her brain to put full weight on all 4 limbs. I found that steady slow walking and lots of it on soft ground was the most benifitial. At a walk dogs use all 4 legs about the same and this is what was needed in her case. It took me a while to realise that feeling sorry for her not being able to bowl around like a puppy was in her best interest but I do think I am partially responsible for it dragging on so long as like most of us we feel sorry for them not being able to play and run. It was a slow process and I never thought I would see her sound but it came good eventually.She was seen by an ortho specialist and nothing untoward was found. If they are sure there is nothing other than loss of tone following a strain then ask for a referal to see a really good physio and see if they can help.  Make sure your vet has ruled out anything else first though. You would not want to do something that may make things worse.
I hope you get to the bottom of it as it can be very disheartening. Just to say that at 2 years old she is now full of beans with not a sign of a limp.
Aileen

Thanks for the response, all makes lots of sense, sometimes I think if others have experienced it, it helps.

I would look in to getting him checked by a McTimmoney Chiropractor. My beardie banged his shoulder at about 4 months and was ok to start with. As he grew he became lame. Vets couldnt find what it was. He did have to have cage rest and gentle lead walks, then would be ok. Every month or so he would go lame again and another visit to the chiro and a few days est would sort him out. She said it was as he grew his shoulder just needed help and adjusting. Once he got to about 18 months and stopped growing its never bothered him again and he has regular check ups at chiropractor. Worth thinking about i'd say.

Now found out it is Elblow Dispalcia and have been give 2 options, either have a screw fitted into the elbow in case of a fracture (seens excessive) or have a CT Scan and surgery to check if there are any fragments floating around and have them removed.  Have to keep feeding him the prescribed Rimadly and he is back in 3 week for the crunch decision.. Option 2 looking very good at the moment.
Yvonne